Assassin’s Creed Shadows pre-orders are “looking very strong”

Assassin’s Creed Shadows pre-orders are “looking very strong”.

That’s according to notable – and often accurate – leaker Tom Henderson, who claims that “no one in the know [at Ubisoft] is disappointed” with the number of pre-orders the highly-anticipated action-RPG has secured so far.

“Assassin’s Creed Shadows pre-orders are looking very strong,” Henderson said in his full, if brief, statement on Twitter/X. “I don’t have the exact numbers yet, but no one in the know is disappointed with them.”

The pre-orders are likely clocking up after our first proper look at Assassin’s Creed Shadows earlier this week, which detailed the game’s dual protagonists. Both characters appear front and centre in the game’s new cinematic trailer and on the game’s cover, with each offering a markedly different play style. A gameplay trailer will follow next month, Ubisoft says.

As Tom described for us at the time, the teaser embedded above opens on Naoe, a female shinobi, as she crosses paths with Yasuke, the historical figure depicted here as a powerful samurai. Initially, it seems, the two are adversaries – but the pair soon find common ground. By the end of the trailer, Naoe is wearing the Assassin’s Creed series’ iconic Hidden Blade weapon – and both appear to be at least allied with the Assassins.

Ubisoft also recently confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows players will need to connect to the internet to first install the game, although there is no “mandatory connection” requirement.

“We wanted to share some early information on the upcoming launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, following some questions we’ve noticed in the community,” Ubisoft wrote.

“Assassin’s Creed Shadows will not require a mandatory connection at all times. An online connection will be needed to install the game, but you will be able to play the entire journey offline, and explore Japan without any online connection.”